Stranger Things (S03E01) “Suzie, Do You Copy?”

Stranger Things Season 3 Recap

Grab your swim trunks because the summer of 1985 is heating things up in Hawkins!

It’s summer in Hawkins and our favourite kids aren’t kids anymore. Season 3 of Stranger Things was released on Netflix last week and is already breaking viewing records. The first episode (S03E01) “Suzie, Do You Copy?” brings our favourite characters back to our screens as they navigate summer in Hawkins, Indiana.

[Credit: IMDb]

Recap of Season 3, Episode 1 of Stranger Things, “Suzie, Do you copy?”

June 28, 1984

The opening scene takes place in 1984 shows a group of Russian scientists working with a large-scale laser. It appears these men (dressed in gas masks) are using the machine to open a gate to the Upside Down. The machine explodes before successfully opening the gate, melting the surrounding workers into piles of red goo. The remaining scientists are told they have one year to fix the problem and open the gate.

Summer, 1985

It’s summer in Hawkins and the town is thriving in the absence of the looming threat from the Upside Down. Now home to the Starcourt Mall, the residents of Hawkins are able to browse through their favourite shops or grab a cone from Scoops Ahoy before catching the premiere of Back To The Future.

Sporting sailor uniforms, Steve (Joe Keery) and newcomer Robin (Maya Hawke) spend the summer scooping ice cream at Scoops Ahoy. Steve remains friends with the party, as the kids frequent the shop and Steve allows them to sneak through the back entrance into the movies.

It’s the summer of love for Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who much to Hopper’s (David Harbour) dismay, spend all their time kissing. An overprotective Hopper seeks Joyce’s (Winona Ryder) parenting advice when he struggles with the fact that his adopted daughter is growing up. In exchange for her help, he invites Joyce to dinner, an offer she declines. We later see Joyce eating dinner alone while watching re-runs on TV, mourning the loss of Bob; her season 2 boyfriend.

Hopper prepares to give Mike and Eleven a scripted heart-to-heart after failing to get Eleven to keep her door open at least three inches. In the end, he chickens out and doesn’t deliver his speech. Instead, he opts to intimidate Mike.

Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) returns home from summer camp with exciting news, he has a girlfriend named Suzie! He attempts to contact her via Cerebro and fails, leaving Max (Sadie Sink), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Will (Noah Schnapp) to wonder if Suzie is real.

[Credit: IMDb]Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) spend the summer working as interns at The Hawkins Post. Nancy struggles to gain the respect of her male coworkers, who refer to her as Nancy Drew. While taking out the trash, she receives a phone call about diseased rats and jumps at the lead.

Mrs. Wheeler (Cara Buono) can’t keep her eyes off Billy (Darce Montgomery), who is working as a lifeguard at the town pool. Billy can’t help himself from flirting with Karen and invites her to meet him at a motel. On his way to meet Karen, Billy is attacked and dragged off into a warehouse.

Diving Back Into the Upside Down

[Credit: IMDb]The first episode establishes strong cast pairings that are carried on throughout the season. Winona and David serve as a dynamic duo as Hopper accompanies Joyce to solve her magnet mystery. Steve and Robin’s fast friendship immediately steals our hearts, as does Steve and Dustin’s relationship. Max and Eleven’s evolving friendship hit us with some mega girl power feelings.

This season was littered with pop culture references and evokes a wave of 80’s nostalgia. Beginning with Mike singing along to Corey Hart’s Never Surrender, this season was packed full of references to classic 80’s phenomena. Even those unfamiliar with the references that made will find themselves falling in love with the throwback Stranger Things 3 soundtrack.

What about the gate?

Is Will seeing things again? He appears to sense the presence of something in Hawkins but keeps the information to himself.

Hawkins seems to have some electrical problems. Joyce’s magnets keep falling from her refrigerator and the entire town loses power at the start of the episode. This town-wide power outage happens when something from the Upside Down forms in a warehouse on the outskirts of town.